Separable crimped connector



Nov. 15, 1955 F. MATTHYSSE SEPARABLE CRIMPED CONNECTOR Filed Aug. 15,1949 IN VEN TOR.

e m w R m m w Wh 2,724,097 "SEPARABLE CRIMPED CONNECTOR Irving FrederickMatthysse, Bronx, N. Y., assignor to Burndy Engineering Company, Inc., acorporation of New York Application August 15, 1949, Serial No. 110,2743 Claims. (Cl. 339-468) be electrically and mechanically disconnectedwithout destroying the crimped connection thereto.

The many advantages of crimped type connectors have resulted in theirwidespread use in fields hitherto limited to the soldered andcone-compression types. A crimped connector .is easier and quicker toinstall and is initially less expensive. The crimped or indentedconnector has been shown to be completely reliable and it has beenwidely adopted in view of its many advantages and obvious savings.

Even where crimped connectors have to be replaced the number ofreplacements are usually relatively few so that despite the additionalcosts involved in replacements in a big installation, they retain muchof the original overall savings.

I have found that it is possible to reduce the cost of such replacementswhere crimped connectors are involved by the strategic use of a crimpedconnector made readily disconnectable and reusable through the adoptionof a separable feature.

Accordingly the principal object of my invention is to provide a crimpedconnector that may be readily disconnected without destroying thecrimped element.

Normally a readily disconnectable means usually requires a threadedelement, and since the indentable sleeves are made of soft malleablecopper it is difficult to thread. Therefore a further feature of myinvention is to provide an element in my connection that may be easilythreaded. Such an element is usually made of metal less malleable andwhich usually results in a lower conductivity. As a consequence it isimportant that the portion of my separable crimped connector carryingthe current shall be made only of highly conductive material to avoidloss in the electrical joint efficiency of my connection.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a means to retainthe threaded element in the connector to facilitate shipment and loss ofparts while the connector is being installed on a job; and to provide aconnection that can be disassembled and assembled in a minimum of time.

I accomplish these and other objects and obtain my new results as willbe apparent from the device described in the following specification,particularly pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which- Fig. l is a longitudinal side elevationview, partially in cross-section, of my device for use in a terminaltype of connection, and

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal side elevational view, partially in crosssection, of my device for use in a splicing type of connection.

With particular reference to Fig. l of the drawing, the referencecharacter designates a connector terminal comprising a lug 11 made ofhighly conductive metal, usually pure copper, and extending tubularsleeve 12,

2,724,097 1C6 Patented Nov. 15, 1955 .2 similarly made of pure copperwhich is readily malleable. The sleeve extends a sufficient length topermit insertion ,therein of a conductor 13, which may be crimped orindented thereto by applying a suitable tool to the sleeve, causing theindentation 14 to appear thereon. securing the conductor to the sleeve.The indentations are suitably spaced to prevent the overlapping ofindentations and to provide the minimum length sleeve for the requirednumber of indentations.

This may be accomplished by forming knurled rings 15 encircling thesleeve to indicate the spacing between indentations. The knurled ringsmay be formed on the sleeve at the factory during manufacture by rollingthe sleeve against the knurling tool, a relatively inexpensiveprocedure. When the connector is installed on the job, the knurled ringsmay be used as a guide for the positioning of the indenting tool, thusinsuring the proper spacing of the indentations.

One end of the lug 11 is perforated as at 16 to enable the lug to bemounted to a supporting structure, not shown. The other end of the lugis illustrated as having a transversely extending tube 17 or engagingmember made of the same material as the lug and terminating in a flaredor female portion 18, which constitutes a contacting surface.

Between the lug and the flared portion, a hollow bolt 19 is positionedhaving a tapered cam surface 20 for engaging the outer surface of theflared portion, and an external threaded section 21 for engaging theinternally threaded section 22 of a hollowed compression nut 23, whichencircles the sleeve 12. An inner seat 24 is formed in the nut 23 toengage the shoulder 25 of the sleeve 12. The bolt and nut 19 and 23respectively constituting compression means for the connection.

Completing the sleeve 12, the inner or male end 26 constituting acontacting surface thereof is tapered to snugly fit inside the flaredend 18 of the lug tube 17. In normal operation nut 23 is slipped overthe end of the sleeve until it abuts shoulder 25 thereof, the bolt 19having been positioned between the terminal lug and flared end 18 of thelug tube. The threads of the bolt and nut are then engaged andtightened, forcing tapered or male end 26 of the sleeve inside theflared or female portion 18 of the tube, establishing a good electricalcontact between the tube and sleeve. Thereafter the conductor 13 isinserted in the sleeve 12 and indented to secure the conductor thereto.The terminal is thereafter mounted to its supporting structure.

In the event it becomes necessary to separate the terminal from itssecured conductor for any reason, such as changing the terminalconnector or replacing the terminal connector, with a different styleconnector, such as that shown in Fig. 2, this can be readily done byunscrewing the nut and bolt, and removing the terminal stud with itsextending tube and retained bolt, and reestablishing the connection asdesired.

The connector may be of the so-called splicing type 29 illustrated inFig. 2, wherein the extending tube with its flared end is formed inanother sleeve. Thus an indenting type of sleeve 30, one end of which isflared as at 31 is provided to permit connection to the sleeve 12,similarly as is the flared tube 17 of Fig. l.

A hollow bolt 32, identical with bolt 19 of Fig. l is similarlyemployed, engaging with the nut 33, identical with nut 23. 7

As a matter of convenience to the workman making the installation, cablestop 34 may be formed by indenting the inner end of the malleablesleeves of Figs. 1 and 2 to limit the forward movement of the conductor13 as it is inserted into the sleeve thus insuring the proper locationof the indentation with respect to the conductor. Likewise stops 35 maybe formed projecting from the outer surfaceof thesleeves to prevent thenuts 23 or 33 from becoming dissociated from the sleeve and lost, yetpermitting the nut to be loosened for separating the connector.

' Thus my invention, makes possible connectors having extending sleevesections made of malleable metal suitable for indentation to electricalconductors, and capable of transmitting current efiiciently through theconnector. A connection may be quickly made tolthe conductor obtainingthe many advantages of indented connections. At the same time, andwithout loss of electrical efliciency, the connection may be broken bymy separating feature for changing the type. of connector, or forreplacing a portion thereof, orfor changing the connection itself. Ihave thus described my invention, but I desire it understood that it isnot confined to the particular forms or uses shown and described, thesame being merely illustrative, and that the invention may be carriedout in other; ways without departing from the spirit of my invention,and, therefore, I claim broadly the right to employ all equivalentinstrumentalities coming within the scope of the appended claims, and bymeans of which, objects ofmy invention are attained and new resultsaccomplished, as it is obvious that the particular embodiments hereinshownand described are only some of the many that can be employed toattainthese objects and accomplish these results.

I claim:

, 1. A permanently indented electrical connection to a wire comprising apair of soft malleable highly conductive metal sleeves short in lengthhaving conforming tapered contacting surfaces at one end, andpressureengaging surfaces; separate threaded means for compress: ing thepressure-engaging surfaces forcing the two contacting surfaces againsteach other and establishing a good electrical contact between thesleeves, at least one of said sleeves having an electricwire inside saidsleeve permanently indented to said wire at the other end of the sleeve.

2. The permanently indented electrical connection of claim 1, whereinboth sleeves are permanently indented to electric wires.

3. The permanently indented electrical connection of claim 1, whereinone of the sleeves is provided with an extending stud for attachment toa terminal post- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 1,317,735 Skelly Oct. 7, 1919 1,363,181 Henger Dec. 21,1920 2,247,386 John July 1, 1941 2,294,432 Weidner Sept. 1, 19422,305,668 Bruno Dec. 22, 1942 2,318,822 Wantz May 11, 1943 2,329,653Rogoflf Sept. 14, 1943 2,371,469 Rogoif Mar. 13, 1945 2,404,682 BakerJuly 23, 1946 2,409,650 Wiggins Oct. 22, 1946 2,446,926 Hill et al Aug.10, 1948' 2,466,997 Morris Apr. 12, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 1.695 GreatBritain of 1871

